Prairie Fire
by stillwaters72
Summary: What happens when a new girl walks into a small town bar? Cue balls, teasing and booze. Will what happened in the cab of a truck stay in the cab of a truck? Will Bella ever remember her blue panties? EPOV AH Rated M for a reason
1. Late August Heat

Prairie Fire

**a/n: RATED M for a reason if you are not over the age of 18 find a T fic right now.**

**Farmerward owes sexy hugs and kisses for his creation to the pushy insistence from LasVegas TowGirls that I get his hot-ass written down. Thanks for the support Babe! Candy hearts to my lovely pre-readers: Sis, L, LVTG and SCTG – Ed sends you shots of jaggi.**

**I'm posting this as a one-shot but have a plot-outline for later chapters, I just am not sure if I can maintain reasonably timed chapter updates for multiple stories, so please set your alerts! **

**This fic is based in Saskatchewan, Canada. I have a photo folder on my FB profile with pics in case you have no clue what I am talking about and will work to get links on my FFNet profile. Otherwise ask and I will explain anything that throws you for a loop. I am also popping my lemon cherry with this fic so be kind *blushing*.**

**Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress) is by The Hollies: http:/www (.) youtube (.) com/watch?v=_0LTRPMpOVM**

**All names have been changed to protect the innocent ;)**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie owns Twilight, not me; I just play with her characters. **

**Prairie Fire**

Shutting off the auger I took my ballcap off and wiped my brow squinting against the light of the sun laying low on the horizon.

"Well that's full up" said Ben the driver of the semi hauling our wheat to the Elevator. I signed the weigh slip and we made small talk for a few minutes regarding the weather we have had and prediction for harvest. Then he fired up his rig and made his lumbering way out of the farm yard.

I dusted of the auger, switching the gears to pull the bucket out from under the grain bin and lowered it to move it, groaning and slow back to the quonset.

This last load of the day was the easy load. The bin was up on a hopper bottom allowing all the grain to pour out into the auger bin and move up into the truck. Earlier we had been emptying flat bottom bins. It was a bitch of a job because you had to crawl inside and shovel the last of the wheat to the auger. It was hot, dusty, dirty and dangerous.

Needless to say I stank and needed a shower badly. But the bins were empty now and waiting to be filled by this year's harvest. Today's hard work just bought me few days of down time. There is a point in every summer that you have done all you can do and the rest is up to God.

With the equipment put away I sauntered across the yard up to the main house where Esme would have supper waiting. I paused for a moment to take in the view across the coulee, blanketed in the orange glow of the lowering sun. Past the coulee the prairie stretched out to the horizon, the ripening wheat waving lazily and green-golden in the light breeze.

It was a glorious sight, the bountiful Saskatchewan prairie, on a peaceful late summer evening.

Before entering the ranch style house from the rear entrance I banged my hat off against my boots the dust and wheat chaff flying. I removed my boots, leaving them on the mat outside for that purpose. Stepping through the door I hung my hat and entered the washroom to clean of my hands and wash the days dust from my face and neck.

The smell of roast beef called me down to the kitchen which took up a large part of the middle of the house. My Aunt Esme greeted me there with a smile and a plate heaped with slices of beef, garden fresh potatoes and green beans. She drizzled the beef and potatoes with gravy from a pot on the stove before placing it down on the kitchen table, following it up with the salt and pepper and a glass of milk.

I gave her a kiss on the forehead before sitting down and picking up the cutlery beside the plate.

"Thanks Esme," I said with a smile. She ruffled my hair and went to the adjoining living room, taking her seat across from my Uncle.

"Truck filled?" my Uncle Carlisle called from his lazeboy chair, fully reclined watching a program on the TV.

"Yep," I answered.

That was the extent of small talk in the evening in the home of my aunt and uncle. It was a comfortable routine.

No sooner had I finished tucking away my meal my cell started vibrating in its holder on the belt of my jeans. I answered it quickly when I saw Emmett's name on the call display.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked as I walked my dishes over to the kitchen sink. Esme had seen me move and was quick to leave her chair, taking my plate and shooing me away.

"Ed, Jasper and I are heading for a beer at the Hilton. Are you done up for the day?"

I grinned to myself as I headed down the stairs to my room in the basement. I beer sounded fucking perfect after a long day in the late August heat.

"Shit, yeah, man. I just need to shower and I will meet you there. Are the girl's coming?"

"They're meeting us there. Guess Alice made a new friend at the salon this week and her and Rose are bringing her down for the night. Be prepared Ed, I smell a set-up," Emmett guffawed. "Okay, I got to go pick up Jasper, see you in a few."

Rolling my eyes I clicked end and dropped my phone on the dresser. It has been the same game since I moved here in my early teens. I was fresh blood and better yet I wasn't anyone's blood relation. For the last ten years if the ladies weren't trying to hook up they were trying to hook me up. It has only become worse as we have gotten older and everyone has split off into mated, or at least mating, pairs.

I stripped off my wretched t-shirt and jeans, peeled off my socks and walked naked to the bathroom next to my room. My skin was starting to itch from grain dust now that the sweat had cooled on my body.

With the water as hot as I could stand I flexed my sore shoulders and stretched out my back muscles. I washed my hair and body and paid a little extra attention to my lower parts.

Hell, I was one of the few single guys in the area. It should be taken for granted that I jerk off every time I shower. Every single time - I am, after all, a healthy twenty-three year old male. It is just common sense and good self-care.

After drying off I took a moment to admire the muscle definition that a summer of hard work has wrought, slapping my abs and flexing my biceps. I ran my fingers through my sun-kissed auburn locks before giving up on it. Alice works hard to give me 'perfectly disarrayed', whatever the hell that means. It is getting long and in need of her magic shears again soon.

Running my palm across my sharp square jaw I decided to leave the day or two worth of stubble, not wanting to take the time to lather and shave. I narrowed my blue-green eyes at my reflection, smoothed my heavy brows and pinched my nose, wondering what type of girl they were planning to throw at me tonight.

The last girl, Laurie, Lynn –Lauren, was a catastrophe. Alice met her at some aesthetician course and set up a group dinner in a pub in Saskatoon as an introduction. Lauren was pretty but just way to pretty. She was bleached, lacquered and polished to an inch of her life. Thickly blond-striped dark hair, too much make-up and the length of her white-tipped shiny nails terrified me.

She was also dumb as a post and laughed like a braying donkey. I got shit-faced just to drown out the sound of her voice and to numb the sensation of her very obvious sexual advances. The evening ended with me puking on her shiny high heel shoes when she attempted to grope my junk.

Needless to say I didn't have much faith in Alice's matchmaking skills.

I quickly pulled on a tight black short-sleeve t-shirt and tucked it into a pair of well-worn and faded Levis. There was a rip in the knee, but really, who gave a shit. I drew my belt through the loops, attached my cell, stuck my wallet in the back pocket and grabbed my truck keys. I was good to go.

I sped down the stick straight gravel road from the farm to town with the window wide open, an elbow on the frame and one hand on the wheel. The wind blew chaotically through the cab of my old Ford F150 pick-up and the dust bloomed and billowed out behind me.

Paris, Saskatchewan became my home when I was thirteen years old. Up till then it was a place I spent my summers with my Mom's sister and her husband. My parents, Edward and Elizabeth Masen and I lived in Regina until one fateful winter night a patch of icy Trans-Canada highway and a one-ton truck took their lives. Carlisle and Esme have been my only family since then.

Paris was officially a village and had a population of about 200 some odd souls in town and was surrounded by the families that populated almost 150 farms. The fields sprouted wheat, durum, mustard, canola, barley, lentils and oats and the pastures grew alfalfa for hay or were populated by cattle, elk or buffalo.

The town itself had everything required for daily rural living, with a credit union, grocery store, post office, insurance agent and a K to 12 school, as well as the Tavern, which we fondly referred to as the as the Paris Hilton.

I put on my shades and still squinted against the sun starting to lie low on the horizon as I drove the 15 minute journey. Evening stretches on forever in the prairie summers, and then hangs in an almost endless twilight. When full darkness finally descends the sky is fiery with the white pinpricks of stars highlighting the mind-blowing infinity of space.

The Hilton sat on the first corner of town and I pulled around and parked in the far back corner of the small lot behind it. The new RCMP Constable and I have had one to many misunderstandings of late regarding my lead foot and a near blow-over on the fine line between vapours and a driving-under-the-influence charge. I didn't want my well-known brown truck and license plate advertising my presence at the local watering hole by parking on the street.

I spied Emmett's huge brand new black Dodge Ram announcing his presence (pfft, Dodge) but didn't see Rose's inherited antique Grand Marquis. That woman lived to tinker with vehicles. She just finished her apprenticeship in Heavy-Duty Mechanics but was having trouble selling her services to the old-fashioned farmers around this area. One would think they would let her service their tractors just for the opportunity to ogle her goods. Lord knows I did but don't tell Emmett that.

My best-friends and boon companions Emmett and Jasper were cousins who helped out their Dad's who farmed together. The McCarty's had been here since homesteading four generations ago.

Jaspers girlfriend Alice Brandon and Emmett's fiancée Rosalie Hale were also cousins. The girls were - they weren't blood related to the boys. Well, actually Rose was somehow Jasper's cousin. Don't ask me to explain without a diagram but there is nothing to get all creeped out about. Trust me. This is the nature of small towns.

I pushed my way through the heavy back door, where the outdoor smoking lounge was located, into the gloomy dim interior of the tavern. The joint wasn't overly large but was long and narrow, with a smattering of round tables and an eclectic mix of mismatch chairs. Two pool table were located on one end, a small stage area for live entertainment on the other and the long bar and a jukebox in between.

Other than Jazz and Em there was the usual handful of regulars and old-timers, all male, drinking and shooting the shit. It was the typical quiet Friday night crowd.

I waved at Paul, the owner and bartender, slid my sunglasses into the neck of shirt and joined Emmett and Jasper where they sat in the middle of the room. Paul nodded, non-smiling as usual, and turned to pull my usual Canadian bottle of beer from the coolers lining the wall behind the bar. Yeah, Paul and I go way back, none of it necessarily good, but that is a story for another day. Whatever, my money was still good here and he still let me run a tab.

When I sat down I noticed two things immediately: one, there were already empties on the table and two, they were both giving me shit-dumb grins.

"What the fuck?" I demanded, glowering. They knew something and I didn't fucking like it.

"Nothing," from Jasper.

"Well, don't you look pretty, princess," from Emmett.

I rolled my eyes at the two of them as Paul placed my beer down on the table, took the empty bottles and stomped back to the bar where he then increased the volume on the Johnny Cash music currently playing in the background from the jukebox.

It looked like everyone was in fine flavour tonight.

Though I don't know where Emmett got off calling me 'princess' considering we were all dressed in relatively the same blue jeans, t-shirts and boots. He's just jealous because I am prettier than him. Not that Jazz and Em don't have game and I'm secure enough to acknowledge that they are both good-looking dudes.

Other than the fact that they both have the piercing grey-blue McCarty eyes and were both over six feet tall, as was I, they were like night and day. Emmett had short dark wavy hair, a certain boyish ever present smirk and a muscle-bound build like a linebacker. Jasper, on the other hand, had narrower features, chin length blond hair, which seemed to have a permanent hat dent, and was lean and hard compared to Emmett's girth.

The three of us drank our beers and motioned for another round , bullshitting and catching each other up on the local gossip, while we waited for the girls and their _guest_ to arrive.

The only warning I had when they did arrive, before hearing the door behind me thud shut, was the sudden head swivel of every patron of the tavern. Jaws dropped, and eyebrows were raised then covert whispering – all indications that a _stranger_ had stepped foot into the premises.

I was in mid draw on my bottle when I turned my head and saw _her_ and gasped then started chocking loudly spluttering and dribbling the half-swallowed gulp.

The three of them were standing just inside the door. Rose and Alice flanked this brown-haired beauty of a girl, who upon realizing that all eyes were literally trained on her, she blushed a bright red.

This girl was shorter with gentler curves than Rose's blonde, model-perfect statuesque proportions. Yet she was taller and more womanly that the dark-crazy-haired waif on her other side. Though, really, who wasn't taller than Alice, the girl is only five foot and a prayer

The three of them made their way across the room and the music that momentarily went silent came back in full force playing "Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress)". Emmett and Jasper quickly pulled over another table and more chairs to make room for our now party of six as I wiped beer from my chin.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was wearing a short denim skirt, a fitted white tank and had a black sweater tied around her waist. The skin of her pale legs glowed in the dim light of the tavern drawing my eyes down to dainty feet in sandals. Her toe nails were painted black which only made her skin look more pale and ethereal.

Rose smacked me upside the head as she brushed past and took a seat next to Emmett. "Ouch, shit Rose," I complained in response to her, unfortunately, usual greeting. She simply arched her perfect brow and proceeded to give Emmett a kiss worthy of a porn set.

I rolled my eyes in disgust and when they came back up for air asked, "So did the land yacht you're driving these days survive the trip?"

"Why yes it did, how is your piece of shit doing?" Touché, I shrugged and smirked, it is just my farm truck and the only reason it was road worthy was due to the efforts of the grease queen.

Alice bounded up to Jazz and gave him a quick hug and peck before making introductions.

"Bella, this is Emmett, my Jasper and Edward," she put special emphasis on my name which only proved that this was, indeed, a fix up. At this point I didn't care; the girl had a name, Bella.

"Guys this is Bella," Alice continued. Yes, thank you for the reminder.

"Hi Bella," us three cheese balls said in unison with a smile and a wave. Alice rolled her eyes and pulled on Jaspers shirt, "Come on boy-o lets go grab a round. Bella what do you want to drink?"

"A rum and coke would be good," Bella answered. Her voice was sweet and soft, the kind of voice that should be recorded reading children's books or erotica.

"Shots?" Alice then asked motioning to us with a circular gesture of her arm.

"Hell yeah," answered Emmett.

Alice threw her enormous bag on the empty chair by Jasper and the two of them strode off. Bella, by default took the empty seat beside me. Unlike the other two girls Bella didn't carry a purse which was unusual. She untied her sweater from her waist and hung in on the back of her chair and when she did so I got a flash of something glittery above the low waistline of her skirt. A belly button ring perhaps? Please?

When she sat her skirt rode up higher and when she then crossed her legs even more of the smooth skin of her thighs was exposed. I licked my lips and hastily took another pull from my bottle dragging my eyes up to her face. Her arched brow indicated that my lingering gaze had not been missed and I swallowed hard.

"So, you're Edward, eh?" she asked. "Alice had a lot to say about you on the ride out here." Okay, well that could go either way.

"Oh?" I replied brilliantly and took the opportunity to really look at her. Well, to really look at her face, her legs I had obviously already become acquainted with. Bella's face was the epitome of timeless natural beauty, her nose straight and pert, full rosy lips and rich chocolate eyes. She didn't appear to be wearing any make-up with the exception of whatever made her lips glimmer.

Shiny thick waves of mahogany hair framed her heart-shaped face. Her hair fell to the top of her full perfectly round breasts, right about where, I imagine pink, little nipples were making an appearance through the thin fabric of her top. Again, I licked my lips and quickly forced my gaze back to her eyes.

"Uh, yeah, well Alice and I go way back. How do you know her?" I distracted myself from staring at her by tipping my head back to drain the last of my beer.

"I just met Alice this week, she did my hair and well she is kind of hard to resist," she laughed, "and insisted that she had to show me the ropes of Prairie life."

"Alice puts the friend into friendly," I chuckled in agreement. "So you're new to the area? Where are living?" I asked, picking at the label of my now empty bottle of beer.

"I'm staying with my Dad right now but I'm moving into dorms next week on Campus. I just transferred here from UBC to U of S."

Really? Moved to Saskatoon from Vancouver did you? Well I attend the University of Saskatchewan as well. Before I could respond Alice and Jasper returned with a fresh round and shots of Jagermeister for each of us.

Alice passed around the shots and with a quick look around at each other we saluted and downed the throat burning liquid.

Rose grimaced and then smacked the table and stood up. "Pool," Rose announced rather than asking. "Edward you're with Bella, Emmet with me and the sharks," she gestured with her thumb towards Jasper and Alice, "play the winners."

We all gave are various verbal and non-verbal cues of agreement, picked up our respective drinks and made our way over to the pool tables.

We placed our drinks on the narrow ledge that ran along the wall and Jasper took a seat on one of the bar stools that ran below it. Alice snuggled herself in between his parted legs wrapping his arms around her.

I pushed a loonie into the coin slot to release the balls while Emmett collected two pool cues from the wall rack. Rose racked the balls as they released into the chamber at the end of the table. I stood up and backed into Bella not realizing how close to me she was standing. Her chest was pressed against my arm and I couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of her soft tits on my body.

"I should warn you that I am really, very bad," she said, standing up on her tip-toes to get closer to my ear and balancing herself with a hand on my arm. I liked the way her tits felt but the feel of her hand on my body was definitely a close second. It took a second for what she said to sink in past the warm flush that her touch was creating in my pants.

"Huh, wait, what?" Did she just tell me that she was a bad girl?

"I said that I am not very good at pool," she reworded, "I know how to play but I suck." Of course my mind got caught on the various ways and positions in which Bella could suck but managed to pull my mind out of the gutter long enough to reassure her that it didn't matter and it was all just for fun.

"Flip for break?" Rose asked me, gripping her pool cue and setting its balance in her arm. Rose took her pool seriously.

"Nah, Rose you go ahead and break," I said, waving her off. I knew Rose lived to break, she could break better than most guys and loved proving that she was not as girlie as she looked.

Smirking, she settled herself at the end of the table, lined up and cracked the balls open, sinking two solids and a stripe. "We'll take solids," Rose announced. Duh, I rolled my eyes and leaned back on the neighbouring pool table to watch, taking the other pool cue that Emmett handed to me.

"Hey we should place bets!" shouted Alice, clapping her hands and jumping up and down, jostling Jasper off of his perch.

"Alice, I told you last time, no more goddam NAKED POOL!" Paul hollered from the bar.

Alice cringed dramatically, then pouting, settled back into Jaspers embrace. "Spoil sport," she grumped.

"Naked Pool?" Bella mouthed silently to me. I just shook my head and mouthed back, "You don't want to know." Really, you don't want to know. I am still trying to bleach out images of Emmett's ass from my mind. Lets just say that Alice never places a bet unless she is sure to win and I have learned to never bet against Alice. Emmett wasn't the only naked ass pool player that night.

"So, Bella, what are you taking in school?" Alice asked, quickly regaining her good mood and sucking on her Paralyser. Ugh, I never could understand girls and their need to mix perfectly good booze with milk.

Bella gave a nervous laugh as she watched Rose move around the table lining up another shot which bounced instead of sinking. Huffing Rose tossed her pool cue at Emmett and went to her drink sitting on the ledge.

"Well, I haven't really decided yet," she answered, twisting her lips adorably. I motioned to her with the cue offering to let her take the next shot. She waved me off. With a shrug I chalked the cue and took a look at the table. Rose really didn't leave me with anything to work with.

Alice tipped her head looking at Bella, "But I thought you said you were third year?"

"Technically I am third year but still general arts," Bella answered. "Dad and I have travelled around so much and my credits don't always transfer." She shrugged and flipped her hair over her shoulders. "Sometimes it's just hard to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life."

When she moved a blue bra strap slipped down her shoulder out from the cover of her tank. She quickly tucked it back in place but that little peek was enough that I flubbed my shot.

"Nice One, Ed. Want another beer?" Emmett joked, lining up his cue to take advantage of the table.

"Shut it," I sniped and stepped to Bella and handed her the cue. "Well, I remember my Dad saying that as long as you do what you love you will love what you do."

Bella laughed, arching her brow at me, "My Father would disagree. He would prefer I hurry the hell up and find a job that is worth the student loans I am racking up. Figures that at twenty-one I should be done with school and getting on with life."

I shrugged in response. Really, like I want to argue with her Father. I would rather hear her laugh again.

"What about you guys? Do you all farm?" Bella asked, as she sucked the last of her drink. Her mouth looked really pretty wrapped around the straw and I really needed to pull my mind out of the gutter, especially if I wanted to make it any where with this girl. Did I want to get anywhere with this girl? Uh, hell yeah!

"Ha!" snorted Emmett. He was bent over wiggling his butt at Rose who leaned over and ran her hand up the inside of his thigh causing him to ruin his shot.

"Emmett," Rose scolded, "you can do better than that."

"Oh yeah, Babe," Emmett turned to her. "Then maybe you should save your wandering hands for our competition."

"I'm not laying a hand on Edward," Rose replied making a gagging motion. Gee, thanks.

"Who said I was talking about Ed. Nothing wrong with a little girl on girl action, just saying." Both Emmett and Jasper started laughing, that is, until they both got smacked by their girls.

"Emmett and I farm, Bella. Edward here is just a part-timer," Jazz explained, answering Bella's earlier question.

"Oh?" Bella responded distractedly. "What are we again?" she asked, looking at me over her shoulder from where she was leaning against the pool table.

"Stripes."

With a nod she clutched her cue and bent over attempting to line up a shot, her elbows and ass sticking out all over the place. Distracted by her ass I wasn't really looking at her struggle to line up a shot. She had a really nice ass, hugged in denim, with the pale curves of her thighs and calves exposed.

I realized that I was literally starting to lean backwards to better ogle Bella's rear-view when I was hip checked by Alice.

"Hey," I startled.

Alice smirked at me and handed me a shot. When had she gone and done that? She was a magical little booze elf.

"Here drink this then help that poor girl out," she said then stopped Bella and handed her a shot glass. I eyed the green liquor and groaned internally at the fact that it was Sourpuss, I hated Sourpuss. Taking it like a man I downed it and worked to not grimace.

Bella didn't fair as well. "What the fuck, Alice!" she sputtered. Well, it's called Sourpuss for a reason and mostly because that is the face you make when you drink it.

Chuckling, I walked up to Bella and leaned on the table next to her. "You okay?" I asked smiling.

Bella just looked at me for a heart beat or two, I was starting to wonder if she heard me when she blushed and responded with an "Um, yeah, fine. But no more shots of that shit, you here me Alice?"

"Aye, aye," Alice's reply was muffled since her face was buried in Jaspers neck. Get a room.

"Is it okay if I give you a hand here with lining up your shots?"

"Yeah, I would appreciate that."

"First off let us fix your grip," I said showing her how to hold the cue. "Now we need to find you a shot," I hummed close to her ear, standing behind her now.

"How about this one?" she asked pointing out a straight forward corner pocket shot. Being so small she would have to lean a lot to reach, I didn't mind that one bit.

"Yeah, that's a good one, now look down your cue so that the line from the cue ball lines up with where you want it to strike," I guided her leaning down alongside her. The urge to run my hand over ass strong but I resisted. The energy coursing through me calling me to touch her, however, was making me lightheaded.

I made myself move away as she pulled her arm back then forward to strike. The shot went true and she landed the ball in the pocket.

"Yay!" Bella squealed, doing a little dance that involved wiggling her hips and arms. Everything soft wiggled with her and I really, really hoped she would do that again.

Bella spun around to me, grinning. "Okay now what?" she asked placing her hand softly on my chest. I swear the touch of her hand was hard wiring itself right to my dick like some kind of on switch.

With a cough I suggested we find another shot. The table no longer had any easy shots but I tried to line her up with no success as the shot bounced without sinking. I was again standing a little to close trying to guide her hand. When Bella stood, pouting, she backed into me. I tried to step away because between her pretty ass and sweet girl smell her proximity was creating an uncomfortable situation. This was not the night to have gone commando.

Unexpectedly, Bella followed my backward step until I was stopped by the neighbouring pool table, sandwiched between it and Bella's round little ass. My problem grew exponentially.

"So Rose and Emmett are pretty good at pool but Jasper and Alice are better? That is why they play the winners?" She asked me softly, watching Rose chalk her cue while eyeing the table like a hawk seeking prey.

I tried to respond an affirmative but all that came out was some garbled vocalization between a yes and a groan. Bella looked at me quickly over her shoulder and as she looked away I thought I caught a glimpse of a smile. I gripped at the pool table on either side of me.

I was pretty sure she knew I had a boner.

"So, why do they call you a part-timer?" Bella asked, again only looking at the pool table.

Clearing my throat I responded, "Because I live and go to School in Saskatoon and come out to help my Uncle when he needs the extra hand."

"University?"

"Yeah, I'm in my grad program - ow!" Suddenly a pool cue was being shoved into my side. "Your up," Rose prodded me again.

"No high sticking and, er, just give me a sec, I need to hit the head," There was no way I was going to leaning over a pool table in my current state of affairs.

"Excuse me," I spoke softly to Bella, lightly touching her shoulder to move so I could extradite myself from the room for a moment to go and, well, adjust myself in private.

"Sure," she said and then swivelled her ass against me before stepping away. Thunderstruck I was frozen for a beat before I limped my way to the bathroom.

The night continued to progress along the same vein. Play a round of pool. Touch, brush, rub, glance and smile. Down a round of shots, get a round of drinks and tell a few stories or lewd jokes. Watch Alice and Jasper play Emmett and Rose. Play another round of pool.

After the first game I had determined that Bella couldn't play pool for shit. By the end of the second I decided that Bella was a fucking tease and that I liked that, a lot.

With the end of the third game, with the exception of Emmett and Rose who stopped drinking after the first game, we were all pretty hammered. Bella, who I had kept catching giving me appreciative glances, and vice versa I'm sure, was no longer hiding it and were both drifting in and out of the conversation lost in the look of each other.

Alice jumped away and swayed over to the jukebox with a handful of change, pulling a giddy and giggling Bella along with her.

Soon the strong beat and lyrics of Lady Gaga was playing. I started to laugh. Paul hated Lady Gaga and I knew Alice only put it on to fuck with him. Grinning, I surveyed the tavern and was not surprised to see that we were the only people left in the building.

Singing along to the lyrics, Alice and Bella began bouncing around each other dancing and gesturing to each other. I stood and watched, impressed with how well this girl fit in with our long established group. I enjoyed the sight of Bella's body moving, unabashedly until the song ended and another began. The two girls laughing and winded stopped their gyrations and walked back towards us.

Deciding we were done with pool we sat back down at the table, except Bella who pulled on her sweater saying that she needed to get some air. "I'll go with you," I promptly offered and suppressed the urge to scowl at the four smirking faces that looked my way.

I held the door open for Bella as we exited out the back. Bella stumbled slightly on the stairs and I caught her about the waist to steady her. The gravel crunched under our feet as we stepped out into the small now, with the exception of my truck, empty parking area.

Bella pulled away from me and spun around swinging her arms out and giggled. I grinned at her enjoying the buzz of alcohol singing through my veins. She stopped suddenly, head upturned and gaped.

"Shit, look at that!" Bella exclaimed, "I have never seen the stars like this."

I stepped up close to her a turned my eyes skyward. It was, indeed, an inspiring sight. The night was clear, space the blackest black and more stars than a person could wrap their head around. Infinity is a humbling concept.

"Edward, it is so beautiful. I feel like we are so close to the sky here. Like I could just reach up and swirl them around with my finger, like I could touch the sky." I looked down at her as she continued to stare, mesmerized with the night sky. Fuck she is beautiful. Her eyes glowed and her cheeks were flushed and I wanted to do…

"Edward, look!" she suddenly gestured, "A shooting star! Make a wish, quick!"

Bella closed her eyes, her lips moving quietly. Before I could think my mouth was on hers and my palms held her cheeks.

While Bella's eyes may have held infinity her lips stopped time, suspended and concentrated into the perfect moment.

She startled for a second before her lips responded to mine. Her arms wound up around my neck, her fingers into the nape of my air, as our lips and tongues moved together with a synchronised synergy.

I was lost in the kiss, lost in the taste of her strawberry lip-gloss and the smooth soft silk of her lips. With my left hand on her jaw I angled her head up so I could kiss down her neck and my right arm wrapped around her waist. When my arm bumped into cool metal I realized that somehow we had move the short distance across the lot and I now had her body pressed against the passenger door of my pick-up.

"Bella," I whispered hoarsely, pulling away.

"No, please, don't stop," she softly panted, her eyes closed and her hands clutching my shirt.

With a groan my lips attacked her mouth, my body pressing into her. Our kisses were turning feverish, wet and sloppy. Bella pulled up the back of my shirt and I grew light-headed from the touch of her hot little hands on the bare skin of my back. My hips desperately want me to press my aching cock into her, anything to relieve the pressure against my button-fly, but I didn't want to hurt her against the hard metal.

"Shit, Bella...I can't…I need," I stammered as I tried to pull us away from the truck.

"Is this your truck?" she asked. Her fingers were still under my shirt, shutting down my voice as they traced around my nipples. I could only nod in response. With rapid grace Bella shifted out of the hold I had on her hips, opened the door and climbed in. Without hesitation I followed her.

No sooner had I closed the door than Bella was straddled across my thighs her hands in my hair and her mouth on mine. Our tongues slid wetly together and we swallowed each other breaths. Her hands returned to moving against my skin under my shirt and she moved the material up. I broke away from her and pulled it off, dropping my t-shirt on the bench seat next to me.

Taking Bella's face in my hands I looked into her heavy-hooded eyes and I stroked her cheeks with my thumbs before pulling her face closer to mine until our lips just barely touched. She let out the sweetest little sigh and her breath tickled across my tongue. So, so slowly I ran my tongue over her pouty bottom lip, and then flicked it over her top lip before sucking it gently into my mouth. I nibbled her top lip with my teeth before releasing it.

Smoothing her hair back I rolled the length of it around my left fist and used it to pull her head back exposing her long graceful neck to my mouth and teeth. As I sucked and nibbled from under her jaw to behind her ear and down to her soft shoulders Bella began to moan and ground her soft hot panty-covered sweetness against me.

My right hand travelled down, my fingers first grazing her neck, then along her collarbone before cupping her firm breast. Bella groaned encouragingly so I moved both hands to her chest. As my thumbs stroked her nipples through the cotton of her top and the lace of her bra, the shifting of her hips caused her skirt to ride up higher. Looking down I could see dark blue satin and my dick grew even harder.

Her movement on my lap was driving me crazy. I want more of her. I needed to feel more of her. Clumsy in my haste I reached up under the back of her shirt and fumbled with the clasp of her bra. I got the damn thing apart with my third attempt. Hungry for her I pushed her shirt and bra up together until her tits were exposed.

"Shit," I groaned. She was perfect, round and full with the tight pink nipples I imagined earlier. I slid down on the bench seat and pulled her chest to my mouth. Sucking on her nipple I ran my tongue around its tight peak before biting gently while my other hand squeezed her other breast. Not wanting to miss anything I quickly switched doing the same to her other breast.

Bella's tits tasted like heaven. My cock was begging for mercy from its confinement in the purgatory of my jeans.

As I licked and sucked and nibbled Bella's cries grew louder. Her hands gripped the seat on either side of my shoulders and her head was dropped forward. My hands left her tits and reached down to her thighs, squeezing her creamy smooth flesh. I ran my hands along her skin and behind to cup and squeeze her ass, pulling her body hard into mine, repeatedly.

"Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, Edward," Bella cried, her mouth hot and wet against my cheek. "Do you…shit…do you have anything?"

My mind went momentarily blank as the rest of the blood in my body rushed to my dick. I stilled the movement of her hips so I could think, though the feel of her tits against my chest still left me reeling.

"Are you sure? I mean, yeah, I do, but…," before I could say anything else Bella had moved off of me. My heart lurched in momentary panic until I saw that she was pulling off her pretty blue panties. I think my dick did a backflip and then high-fived me.

I lifted my ass off the seat to pull my wallet from my back pocket, fished out the condom I kept there and threw my wallet onto the dash.

Bella moved back onto my lap her mouth kissing and sucking my neck and her hands gripping and skimming over my chest and stomach. My head hit the back of the seat as I groaned under Bella's ministrations. I was sure she could feel my heart beating like it wanted to bust right out of my chest.

Then she tugged on the button of my jeans and palmed my dick without letting up her relentless biting and sucking on my neck. The sensation of Bella's hand pressing against my cock combined with her mouth was sending me into sensory overload.

"Bella, wait…stop," I groaned huskily, stilling her hand. Shit, I was almost done for already. I pushed back from a bit and holding the condom between my teeth I rubbed my hands up her thighs. Bella was hot fuck incarnate, with heavy-lidded eyes, her shirt and bra pushed up baring her tits and her skirt bunched around her waist as she straddled me.

What the fuck was I waiting for? I quickly reached down and popped open my fly releasing my erection which strained eagerly, trying to lift itself away from my stomach. My eyes rolled back in my head as Bella reached down and grasped my dick and stroked it. She let out a breathy hum and I quickly ripped the condom out of its wrapper before I lost my shit completely.

I rolled the condom onto myself and Bella placed her arms on my shoulders. I pulled her mouth to mine, my fingers holding her face gently, kissing her softly and looking for confirmation of what we were going to do in her eyes.

Bella suddenly pulled my head back, her fingers gripping my hair, kissing me with force, her tongue dancing and sliding against mine. Her hot breathy pants and renewed movement of her hips against my erection all the answer I needed.

I wrapped one arm around her waist and slid my hand down and slipped my fingers into her folds finding her hot and wet and ready. I continued to stroke her, rewarded with more moans and curse words.

Taking my cock in hand I rubbed it against her clit then I pressed myself into her. Bella gasped as I entered her, I held still, allowing both of us a second to adjust. Fuck she felt good. She felt even better as she rocked herself against me, sliding up and down, her body rubbing on my abdomen.

"Fuck me," she breathed, clinging to my neck and her eyes squeezed shut. Her tits were in my line of sight and leaning forward slightly I sucked one breast into my mouth, flicking her peak with my tongue, while palming the other.

Our movements were fast, frantic and synchronized as my upward thrusts met her downward circling hips. The cab of the truck filled with the noise of our bodies meeting and our laboured pants.

Bella pulled my head back again to gain access to my lips and pressed her chest to mine. "Ugh…Edward…feels so good," she mewled. "Fuck yeah, Bella," I gasped back, moving my hands to her hips to help her keep pace as she began to lose focus.

Relentlessly, I pushed Bella hips into my thrusts as her thighs began to tremble and her breathing erratic. "Shit….ugh…oh god….Edward, I'm co-coming," she moaned, before releasing a long husky groan into the crook of my neck.

I could feel Bella come on my cock as her walls clenched, oh god, and then pulsed hard. Wrapping both arms around her tiny waist I held her body tight to me as I thrust up into her. The sudden surge of her hot, wet, tightness sent a tremor through me, the muscles in my legs and stomach clenched. With a long moan of my own I pressed into her as my own orgasm ripped through me sending lights shooting behind my squeezed shut eyes and a roaring in my ears.

We sat, our bodies joined wrapped in each others arms, until our breathing quieted and the sweat began to cool on our skin. Bella shivered and shifted back, lifting her head from where it rested on my shoulder, the air chilled my chest with her warmth removed.

Opening my eyes I noticed the condensation fogging the window of my old truck granting us a bubble of privacy in the vacant parking lot.

Looking at Bella I noticed that she had her eyes lowered and was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. I gently pushed her dark hair back from her face, smoothing it behind her ears and following the soft silk back to cup her head.

"Hey," I whispered, "that was…wow." I grinned at her lopsidedly as she finally met my eyes with a small, shy smile of her own. I pulled her head to me and kissed her with all the tenderness I could muster after all the frenzy that had just taken place.

"hmmm," she hummed against my lips, returning my kisses with such sweetness that my entire belly lurched and my heart began to pound. I ran the tip of my tongue along her lower lip then gave her one more peck before pulling back and resting my forehead on hers.

I stroked her cheek with my thumb and ran my other hand around her back to pull her closer to me. Time seemed suspended and it was just me and Bella and the sound of our breathing and hearts beating, regulating, beating and breathing in unison.

The calm intimacy was shattered by a sharp rapping on the window to our right.

"Edward quit fucking around with Bella and let her out of your truck! We got to go, Paul wants to lock up."

For someone usually so perky, Alice could be one grumpy drunk.

"Fuck Alice! Just give us a second okay," I shouted back, reaching for my shirt as Bella quickly righted her bra and tank, panicking. I was very happy that the windows were fogged but not so happy to see the sight of Bella's tits disappear.

Bella smoothed her skirt back down over her hips and moved to sit next to me. I tucked myself away and buttoned up. As disgusting as it is I would deal with the discomfort of the condom on my spent erection when I got back inside. Bella moved for the handle of the door as I pulled on my shirt.

"Hey," I said, stopping her with my hand on her arm. "Wait a second, don't go yet. I need to know if I can see you again…" I trailed off suddenly unsure, unsure of what just happened and unsure of where this was going.

Bella's gaze locked with mine, her brown eyes liquid and unfathomable. Her cheeks pinked and a small smile curled her lips. Fuck she is beautiful.

"Um, I don't – do you have a pen?" she asked softly. "Yeah, hang on," I answered, reaching around to open the glove compartment, the organs in my chest warring with themselves in a flurry of nerves. I fished around and pulled out a black sharpie and handed it to her.

Bella pulled the cap off with her teeth, which seemed ridiculously erotic, and pulled my arm to her. Turning my arm over she wrote a series of numbers across my skin, recapped the pen and returned it to me.

Dropping the pen on the floor I grabbed her and pressed my lips to her, hungry for one last taste of her sweetness. We were both breathless when I pulled away and opened the door so we could exit the vehicle.

Stepping down I met the amused gaze of Rosalie and the slightly perturbed on of Alice. Both stood with hips cocked, arms crossed and brows raised. Um, yeah that did not bode well. I helped Bella out of the truck and before I could say or do anything the two girls had Bella, red-faced and quiet, in hand and walking away. Before I knew it I was standing alone listening to the faint sound of feminine laughter followed by the starting of the engine of Rose's yacht.

Ruefully, I ran my fingers through my hair, rubbing my scalp. The whole evening had a slightly surreal quality to it. With a shrug I chuckled and shook my head. Kicking at the gravel I walked back into the Hilton to settle my tab and ask Emmett for a ride home.

~~~PF~~~

The next morning found me groggy and bleary-eyed. I made my way up to my Aunts kitchen in my pyjama pants on the hunt for coffee. Esme, an angel of mercy, handed me a steaming cup as soon as my feet met the linoleum floor of the kitchen.

"I made a fresh pot soon as I heard the shower running," she said ruffling my damp locks before patting my cheek with a fond smile. "I gather that you had a good time last night? I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah," I croaked, blushing, "we shut the place down." I moved to stand by the sink and looked out at the farm yard through the window above it. I sipped at my coffee gratefully.

Esme returned to the kitchen table where her and Carlisle were enjoying their morning cup of grog and sharing the local weekly paper. They talked quietly with each other sharing the recent gossip and news for Paris and surrounding small communities.

My mind wandered back over the events of the night before. My skin tingled and couldn't help but smile with the memory of Bella's lips, skin and touch. I turned my arm over and continued to smile smugly to myself at the sight of Bella's phone number written there.

I was drawn out of my musings when I thought I heard Bella's name fall from my Aunts' lips. "What was that Esme?" I asked without turning my head from the view outside, taking another draw from my mug.

"Oh, I was just talking about Constable Swan, sweetheart," Esme replied, "you know, the officer that replaced Bill Swanson six months ago."

I chuckled internally. Esme kept pretty close tabs on the comings and goings of Constable Charlie Swan. I overheard her once, sighing on the phone with a friend, about how he looked so distinguished with his moustache, so much like Magnum PI. Carlisle and I enjoyed ribbing her occasionally about her crush on 'Magnum". She vehemently denied any such thing. We would buy it if she didn't blush like a school girl while doing so.

"Oh yeah, so what has our local Tom Selleck been up to lately?" I teased.

Esme rolled her eyes. "Well, I heard at the grocery store yesterday that he has a daughter who has just come to live with him for the summer. Apparently, she is going to be attending U of S this fall. Perhaps it would be polite of you to offer to show her around campus and the city. It's never easy being new and I think she is around your age."

I choked on my coffee as the pieces of information offered up by my Aunt fell into place. Catching my breath and clearing my throat I hesitantly asked, "Um, did you get her name?"

"I think it's something like Isabel, Isabella? Bella?" Esme responded.

Huh? Well shit. I just screwed Magnum's daughter – and I liked it, a lot.

29


	2. Two Quick Steps Back

**a/n: RATED M for a reason if you are not over the age of 18 find a T fic right now.**

**This started as a one-shot but due to many requests and the constant tapping in my brain, that were visions of a shirtless Farmerward, I have continued. I hope you enjoy!**

**This fic is based in Saskatchewan, Canada. I have a link to pics, in case you have no clue what I am talking about, on my FFNet profile. Otherwise, ask and I will explain anything that throws you for a loop.**

**"Fishing in the Dark"****, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: www(.)youtube(.)com/watch?v=us73YQtJ7TQ&feature=related**

**"Unbelievable"****, Diamond Rio: www(.)youtube(.)com/watch?v=1jayr9v6l74**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie owns Twilight, not me; I just play with her characters. **

**Prairie Fire**

Chapter Two: Two Quick Steps Back

There had been no rain all week and it was hot, too hot. The crops were ripening, but too quickly. Carlisle was worried. Harvest may come early this year. That was good and bad. Good because it meant getting the crop swathed before the early fall frost could come in and freeze the grain, and bad in that the less growing equalled to smaller lighter wheat. Lack of rain also meant the mustard and the canola couldn't be laid down. Swath it dry and it all shells out leaving money on the ground.

I grunted and strained helping Carlisle to manhandle the swather head into place. My sweat-soaked shirt stuck to my back. With the header pinned in place on our old John Deere 4450, it was time to hook up the hydraulics. Groaning, I shimmied under the huge machine to connect the hydraulic hoses that allowed us to control the swather mechanics from within the cab of the tractor.

We were working outside where the light of day allowed us to see what we were doing. Unfortunately, that meant the gravel and sharp stubble of the ground bit into my back through the thin cotton. The sensation made my skin itch all over.

"Motherfucker!" I cursed as the line I was connecting first sprayed me with hydraulic fluid, then pinched the pad of my thumb as it finally clicked into place. I swear, every fucking year the same hose gave me the same grief. It was our special relationship.

I could hear Carlisle chuckling as I pulled my sorry filthy ass up of the ground. "Same hose?" he asked grinning and remarkably clean. I scowled at him. "Yes, I'm replacing that fucking tip before we do this again next year."

Carlisle went to pat my back then thought better of it, "I think you said that last year."

I just glared at him while he laughed, shook his head, and climbed back up into the cab of the tractor to continue his calibrations.

With a groan of disgust, I pulled my t-shirt up over my head. After a good shake, to get the bits of chaff and rock off of it, I wiped the sweat off my chest, and gave a swipe to my underarms as well. I tossed my shirt on the now attached swather header so I could bend over and shake any bits and pieces out of my hair with my fingers.

Standing back up, I squinted at the sky, estimating by the placement of the sun that it wasn't even noon yet. Grabbing my shirt, I tucked part of it into my back pocket. I seriously did not want to put the filthy damp thing back on. I stepped up to the huge red tractor and hauled my self up the ladder stairs, holding onto the side bar, until I was leaning in through the open door.

"Everything checking out?" I asked my uncle. He had the key turned to run the electrical, but had not started the engine. Last year we had installed a second-hand GPS auto-steer system. I hoped that we had worked out all the bugs last year, but there was always a new Gremlin or two to be found.

"Far as I can tell its all fine. We won't really know until we get going," Carlisle answered, pushing his ball cap backwards to scratch at his ever-lightening hair. Carlisle resettled his hat and turned the key to off. "You still heading home today?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I have to meet with my advisor later this afternoon but the boys asked me to help them with something first," I replied.

"Well, you better get going then. Thanks for helping me out today, and I'll be in touch when it looks like we need to start turning wheels out there."

"Okay, sounds good. I'll head off then. Say good bye to Esme for me when she gets back from town," I said with a smile and hopped back down off the tractor.

Walking away, I entered the nearby shed where I had parked my truck. Opening the passenger door I reached in and opened the glove compartment. I fished around the maps and other junk until my fingers found what I sought and pulled out Bella's blue panties.

Smiling to myself, I fingered the soft material before stuffing them into my front pocket next to my stiffening dick. Those panties have been fuel to the fire of my rampant fantasies all week since my tryst with Bella in my truck.

She had left me that night with her scent on my skin, her phone number on my arm, and an insatiable need to see her again. Of course, she had to return my call first. I slammed the door, gritting my teeth in frustration, and adjusted myself, before stalking over to my Jetta.

Opening up the trunk I pulled out a less dirty shirt from my bag and pulled it on replacing it with the one that had been hanging from my back pocket. Esme always offered to do my laundry for me, but being that I was grown man that didn't sit well with me. She already took such good care of Carlisle and me.

Closing the trunk, I entered and started up my car and drove out of the shed and down the laneway. Before turning onto the gridroad, I slipped on my sunglasses and made sure that the vents were closed and off. It made for a fucking sweltering drive in this late summer heat, but I hated the dust that coated everything other wise. I worried less about my truck, but this Jetta was my baby. I tried to drive it a little as possible on the gravel roads, but I didn't have time to come back for my truck. I would have to make the forty-five minute journey to Saskatoon as soon as I was done helping out Jasper and Emmett.

I headed west first, and then turned north, driving by the ripening fields. Even with the windows and vents closed, I could smell the strong musty odour of the canola. The smell of money, my Uncle Carlisle called it. While the heat wave was unusual, it hasn't lasted long enough to start burning the wheat. The tips would first start turning white, and then by the time they change to deep gold you can smell the cooked grain in the air.

As I drove, my eye caught the faint remainder of the numbers Bella had written on my arm in marker. The sight brought back images from last week, which had me immediately shifting in my seat. My dick twitched to the right, homing in on the panty beacon housed in my pocket. Shit, how that woman has affected me.

I had actually called her the next day, worried about the ribbing she may or may not have endured when Alice and Rose took her home, but there was no answer. I called her again a few days later, and again, was forced to leave a voice mail. I chewed my lip, worried over whether the lack of response was due to embarrassment or rejection. I decided I would try to call her one more time and let the chips fall where they may. I have never been the random hook-up kind of guy, and I really hoped to see her again.

The air, this day, had been unusually still rather than the norm of near constant light to heavy winds. There was a dust trail that hung lazily for almost a mile back on the poker straight road, marking my trail to the McCarty yard. This was their work yard, which was once the original homestead. It was lined with rows of grain bins for storage, a large metal quonset, a newer construction workshop and buried and abandoned behind overgrown caragana hedges, the original small two-story house.

I pulled into the yard blowing dust over Jasper and Emmett, who were standing beside Emmett's beast of a truck. Jasper was on his phone, but both he and Emmett gave me a wave as I parked my car next to them.

"Hey," I greeted them as I exited my car. Pulling on a ball cap, I walked over and joined them by the truck. "So what did you guys need my help with?"

"Hey, Edward, the electric fence out by the old Brent's quarter is giving us trouble. I was hoping you could help us walk the line looking for breaks before heading home," Emmett explained.

"Emmett we have to stop and grab gramps on the way," Jasper said, pocketing his phone.

"Aw, really? Why?" Emmett whined.

"He said he wants to do a head count of the cattle," Jasper explained, patting his cousin on the back, "Look at it this way he can take the fourth side of the field and we will be done even faster."

"Yeah, but he will want to drive my truck," Emmett groused. Shaking his head, he motioned to me to get in the truck, "come on then, lets get this show on the road."

About a mile down the road was the two farm yards of the McCarty brothers, the houses facing each other on either side of the grid road with a small laneway leading to each. We turned in towards the house that Jasper grew up in. Old man McCarty was standing waiting as we pulled to a stop.

Smirking at me, Jasper hopped out of shotgun and opened up the door to climb into the back seat of the club cab with me, nodding his head to direct my attention to the exchange about to take place between Emmett and their grandfather.

Emmett rolled down his window. "Hey Grandpa, all set?" he queried. Grandpa McCarty, who had Emmett's build and once had his colouring simply stared him down, not saying a word.

Emmett let out a large sigh, opened his door, exited and walked around to the passenger side. Jasper couldn't contain his laughter and snorted back a chuckle as Emmett got into the passenger seat, shooting Jasper a glare over his shoulder.

The three mile drive out to the quarter was strange. Old man McCarty drove like a bat out hell, and Emmett spent the entire time holding onto the holy shit handle above the door like his life depended on it. Stranger still was Emmett shouting out "clear" the few times we had to cross an intersection in the grid roads.

Once at the quarter in question, Gramps dropped us each off at a corner so we could walk the line. The boys had cows with their calves grazing in this field with nothing but a three strand barb wire fence and a single line of electric.

Now, the electric line isn't designed to be cruel. It is a single line that runs alone with the barb wire fence and is tied into a battery. The charge isn't enough to harm, but enough to prevent the cows from running the fence. Were they to escape, they would be in danger of being hit by a car or getting lost.

The problem here is that somewhere, there was a break in the line, and the battery sent an alarm that conductivity connection was lost. So we walk the line. Sounds like a Johnny Cash song.

I had made it about halfway down my side of the field when my phone went off. It was Emmett calling to tell me that they had found the problem, and they would be by to pick me up.

We all piled into the truck and headed back. Emmett was red-faced and grumpy. Apparently, the problem was the battery itself, and on the drive back Emmett and Jasper got lectured by Gramps.

The drive back was just as fast, interspersed with Emmett again saying "clear" at every intersection, and Old Man McCarty bemoaning the future of the farm he build up in the hands of his two "Numb Nut" grandsons. Jasper rolled his eyes, Emmett gritted his teeth, and I pondered the wisdom of having not put on my seatbelt as we fishtailed slightly on a particularly loose deposit of gravel.

Finally, Gramps was dropped off and Emmett, Jasper, and I returned to the yard where my car was parked. Jasper fished a few cans of coke out of a cooler in the back of the truck and handed me one.

"So you're back in Saskatoon this weekend?" Jasper asked, cracking open his soda.

"Yeah, meet with my thesis advisor later today. We still going out tonight?" The soda felt good on my dry throat. The heat and lack of breeze was getting stifling, and I really was looking forward to hitting the highway and turning on the air in my car.

"Rose and Alice want to go to the Long Branch. Do you know if Tanya is working and can put a reserve on a table for us?" Emmett muttered around a soda belch.

"I don't think she is back in town yet," I said with a shrug.

"In that case, we better get there early then," replied Jasper, "I, for one, am really looking for one more weekend in the city before harvest gets going."

We all nodded and grunted in agreement before finalizing our Friday night plans. As I was opening my car door, a thought struck me.

"Hey, Emmett, why did you keep yelling 'clear' at your Gramps while he was driving?"

"It was to let him know that there were no cars coming. The old man can't see worth shit and refuses to wear he glasses. Why the hell do you think I don't want him driving my truck?" Emmett grumped in exasperation.

Oh dear Lord.

~~~PF~~~

I walked through the front door of my small bungalow, stepping over the mail that had accumulated on the floor, dropped through the slot in the door. I dropped my rucksack on the couch, pulled off my boots, and stooped to collect the variety of envelopes and flyers.

Idly, I sorted through the mess as I made my way through the living room to the kitchen before dropping it all on the kitchen table with an exasperated sigh. It had already sat on my floor for the better part of two weeks, it wasn't going anywhere.

Scratching my stomach, I opened the fridge door and hunched down to take a look inside. It was pretty bare, and whatever was in there was starting to breed new life. Yep, a trip to the grocery store was also going to be in order.

Closing the fridge, I leaned back on my palms on the counter opposite from it. Rolling my head on my neck, I felt the vertebrae pop and groaned. It had been a long couple of weeks. I raised my arms above my head to stretch out the tight muscles of my back and was suddenly reminded that the fridge wasn't the only thing emitting a sour odour.

Reaching into my pockets, I pulled out my keys from one side, which joined the mail on the table, and found my prize in the other. Bella's panties were smooth and soft and were trimmed along the opening with a touch of matching coloured lace. Yeah, shower, right. With the way my dick was starting to respond to the visual of the panties and my memories of seeing them on Bella's body, a shower was starting to sound like a really good idea.

Stepping into the small bathroom, I started up the old plumbing and closed the clear plastic shower curtain to keep in the heat once the water warmed up. I stripped out of my grubby and sweat-crusted clothes and placed the tiny bit of blue cloth on the vanity.

Stepping into the bathtub, I moaned when the hot water of the shower hit my body. Turning my back to the spray, I leaned on my arms against the tiled wall. Hanging my head, I closed my eyes and breathed in the warm wet air.

The humidity reminded me of how warm it got in my truck that night with Bella and how wet her breath was when her mouth was close to mine. I groaned with the image of my first sight of those damn blue panties. Bella straddling my lap, her skirt pushed up on her hips, her panties blue, hot, and wet rubbing against me. Fuck! My now fully hardened cock twitched so hard that it smacked my stomach.

With a squirt of body wash to my palm, I took myself in hand. Gripping and stroking my dick, I lost my self in the memory of Bella's body. It had been a week since, but everything that transpired was still vivid and forefront in my mind. I rubbed myself harder remembering her voice, her sounds, her smell, her taste, and the hot, wet heat that was being inside of Bella. Bella had engulfed and consumed all my senses.

The memory of her breathy moans telling me she was coming pushed me over the precipice, and I came with a fierce shudder. My forehead thudded against the tiles as the arm holding me upright lost strength from the force of my climax.

Catching my breath, I quickly finished getting myself cleaned up and out of the shower. Once I was dressed in fresh jeans and a clean, pressed button-down, I shaved and jogged out of the house for my meeting with my graduate program advisor. I may or may not have placed Bella's panties back in my front pocket.

~~~PF~~~

I was busy putting my groceries away when I could hear my phone ringing from somewhere else in the house. I patted my pockets then rolled my eyes, because obviously the ringing wasn't coming from anywhere on my body, so why would the phone be?

I followed the noise to the bathroom and found my phone, still in is holder attached to my belt, in my discarded jeans. I had missed the call, but the phone chirped in my hand indicating a text message from Tanya. Pressing the button on the touch screen I opened the message. It was Tanya telling me that she had lost her key and could I place my spare under the mat in font of the door. I shook my head with a smile. It wasn't the first time she had locked herself out; most likely the key was sitting inside.

I texted her back an affirmative and checked to see what else I had missed while I was out. Other than a text from Emmett, saying that he and Jasper were at Alice's place here in the city, there was nothing.

I was disappointed and felt slightly disheartened. I had left a message each time I had called Bella, but no response. With a muttered, "Shit on it," I found Bella in my list and pressed call.

The phone rang twice, then picked up. My heart raced then lurched when a gruff male voice responded.

"Hi, Eric, I'm afraid Bella isn't here," said the male voice that I suspected to be that of Constable Swan.

"Er, this is Edward calling," there was a pause. Clearing my throat, I continued, "So Bella isn't around?"

"No, she forgot her phone when she went to Saskatoon. I have been listening to the damn thing ring all week. I assumed it was her boyfriend."

Another, awkward, silence ensued before Constable Swan continued, his voice heavy with suspicion, "Edward? As in Edward Masen?"

"Um, yes, that's correct."

"So why would _you_ be calling my daughter, son? How did you get this number?" Oh, yeah, Magnum did not sound happy.

"Um, well I met Bella last weekend, when she went out with Rose and Alice," I felt the need to clear my throat again, "and, well, she gave me her number. Bella, um, she forgot something, and I was just trying to get a hold of her, in case she wanted it back."

I deep chuckle came through, "Well that sounds like Bella, she leaves stuff everywhere, obviously, or I wouldn't be answering her phone." I gave a weak chuckle in response. "Well, I'll let her know you called, Edward," he said, and abruptly the line went dead.

I breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't asked what it was that she had forgot. I didn't think I could have thought quickly enough on my feet to cover for that. I was relieved to know that Bella hadn't been dodging my calls; she just hadn't been getting them. This, of course, got me wondering when she would have it back in her possession. Hopefully, it would be soon, and she would call me.

I returned to the kitchen and proceeded to clean the expired and rotten foodstuff from my fridge. While I was at it I was forming the words for a text message to Bella in my mind. Maybe something that would lightly hint about her 'forgotten item' and express how much I enjoyed meeting her last weekend. It was then that the entirety of the conversation with Bella's dad hit home.

What the Fuck? Bella had a boyfriend? Who the fuck was Eric?

~~~PF~~~

I picked up Alice, Rose, Emmett and Jasper at Alice's apartment building, and drove us across the city to the nightclub. It was a tight fit in my Jetta, but everyone was used to it. The two couples chatted excitedly and fortunately none noticed my reticence to join in the banter. I wasn't in the mood to talk about what was on my mind. If I wasn't the designated driver this night I probably would have stayed home. I wasn't really looking forward to this night out anymore.

I don't know why I felt so betrayed, why I cared so much, that she belonged to someone else. She had someone else who kissed those soft lips. Someone who knew the taste of her and the felt their name breathed on their skin. Someone named Eric.

My knuckles were white on the wheel as we pulled in to park at the popular Saskatoon country music nightclub. I eased my grip off the steering wheel as the others exited my vehicle. So what if it was just some one off? We both had a good time and we were both fairly drunk. Shit happens, I silently chastised myself, trying to shake off the angry resentment.

I got out and joined my friends entering the club. We were so early that there was no line yet and the bouncers, familiar with my group, waved us through without collecting a cover charge. The bar was fairly empty, with plenty of seating still available. The good thing about starting the evening early was that I could have a few beers before cutting myself off, allowing me time to be sober enough to drive everyone home. I really wanted a beer.

The five of us sat down in one of the few horseshoe-shaped bench seat tables. The girls loved this table, which is why we always have to get here so early. Alice was swivelling her head around, as she settled herself into the centre of the horseshoe, with Rose by her side. I was starting to expect her head to spin right around on the axis of her neck, the way she was gawking.

"Alice, what are you looking for?" I asked her, an unsettled suspicion rising in my belly. Alice looked at me with a put-on face of innocence and cupped her hand by her ear, to indicate that she didn't hear the question, even though the music in the bar wasn't all that loud yet.

I narrowed my eyes at her and then slowly gave the bar my own appraisal. The Long Branch consisted of a jumble of platforms and open spaces, centred around a dance floor, and there was a long bar off to one side. There weren't that many people, mostly just regulars who have a few drinks then head home when the place got busy.

My eyes stopped on the sight of long brown hair and a perky round ass standing next to the bar. Bella. She confirmed her identity when she turned around, her attention on a big burly blond guy wear a bouncer's shirt.

Fuck me. She was wearing a pair of Levi's, so tight that they should be illegal, and a fitted black t-shirt, with the bar name written across her tits in white letters. Her hair cascaded down her back from under a black cowboy hat. She looked liked sex in black cowboy boots and it pissed me right off.

Bella laughed, then reached back to the bar for her round drink tray. She held the tray up above her head, which caused her shirt to ride up, showing a sliver of skin and her belly button. Yep, and she had a piercing, something glittery, right there. Fuck my life.

Emmett jabbed his elbow into my side, "Ed, isn't that the girl from last week, Bella?"

"Yes," I growled my jaw tight. I narrowed my eyes, as she said something to the bouncer, and cocked her hip playfully. Bella turned then and caught my glare. Recognition flared and first she paled, and then blushed. She had the audacity to look hurt.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself as she came over to our table.

"Hey, guys, you made it!" Bella exclaimed with a wide smile.

"Yes we did missy. We didn't want to miss your first shift at this dive," Rose said. "Oh, and here is your cell phone, your Dad caught me at the shop and asked me to bring it in to you." Rose fished around in her purse before procuring a cell phone, which she then handed over to Bella.

"Oh my God, thank you so much! I have been lost without it this week. I need to wear it on a chain or something, I am constantly leaving it places," she gushed. "So, I only have another hour, and then I can join you guys. This is just a training shift, they aren't throwing me to the wolves until next week," Bella explained with a laugh. "So, what do you guys want to drink?"

Bella took our drink orders then sauntered back to the bar. Even in the mood I was in I couldn't help but stare at the sway of her hips encased in denim.

I slouched back on the bench and stuck my hands in my pockets. I fingered the slip of cloth there. "So you knew Bella would be here, eh, Alice?" I asked.

"Yep," she answered.

"How? She hasn't had her phone all week?"

"I live in this city, Ed," she said, which didn't answer my question at all. Before I could question Alice further, my attention was distracted by Bella, standing at the bar looking at her phone. She pressed some buttons then held it to her ear. Shit! The messages I left her. I felt like such a douche. Morose, I slumped lower in my seat.

Bella returned with our drinks and gave me a small, shy smile. When she put our change down on the table she leaned into me, "Hey, this beer is on me okay. I'm sorry I didn't have my phone," she said softly, just for me to hear.

I grunted in response. I couldn't meet her eye. She gave me curious look then went on to check on another table.

I manage to down three beers, and the others were on the dance floor, by the time Bella came to join our table. She had changed her clothes, no hat and a white shirt. She still looked hot as fuck. I almost groaned when she sat down across from me, as the dark bra she was wearing was visible through the material of her top. Did she do that shit on purpose?

"Is everything okay?" she asked, leaning slightly across the table. I narrowed my eyes at her, I knew I was being a sulky shit, and she had no idea why. I leaned across the table on my elbows, my arms crossed, until our faces were close.

"So who's Eric?"

She sucked in her breath so fast it sounded like a hiss. "What do you mean?" she asked, her face showing her shock at my abrupt question.

"I called you today. Your Dad answered, he thought I was Eric, your boyfriend."

Bella looked at me blankly, but before she could form any thoughts into words, everyone else returned to the table. Instead of us getting up, the girls pressed in on Bella's side and the guys on mine, until Bella and I were pressed together in the centre of the horseshoe.

Alice, Bella and Rose went about talking animatedly, excited to see each other. I sat there, stiffly, trying to ignore how the warmth of her body next mine made my skin hum. Damn, she smelled good. I pretended to engage in whatever the shit Emmett and Jasper were talking about while listening in on the answers Bella had for the twenty questions the girls were giving her.

I learned that Bella had left Saturday with Alice for Saskatoon, that she didn't have a car, and that she moved into her quad on campus on Monday. She talked about having spent her life travelling around with her Dad, from one town to the next, and, even though she didn't have to, she transferred from UBC to U of S when he was transferred to small town Saskatchewan. She explained that there was nothing to tie her to Vancouver, eyeing me sideways when saying that.

She told them about spending the summer in Toronto with her Mom and Step-Dad, who was an assistant coach for the Blue-Jays. Surprisingly, for all the places she had lived with Constable Swan, they had never been placed in Saskatchewan. She was curious to learn more about what it was like for us growing up on farms.

The music had increased in volume, as the crowd in the bar picked up, and it was getting harder to eavesdrop on the conversation between the three women. When the song 'Fishing in the Dark' began to play Alice squealed, "I love this song!" and began pushing Rose out of the seat. "Do you two-step Bella?" Alice asked, turning to Bella, as Emmett led Rose to the dance floor.

"Um, no," Bella answered.

"Well you're in luck because Edward is an excellent teacher," Alice looked at me pointedly, then pulled Jasper up and left to join the crowd on the dance floor.

Bella and I sat there, just looking at each other for a heartbeat or three, until I put out my hand. She put her hand in mine and wordlessly I led her down to the edge of the hard wood, away from the main group of dancing pairs.

Stepping in front of her, I pulled Bella's body flush to mine, with my right hand on her lower back and took her right hand in my left. She looked up at me and licked her lips nervously.

"Two-stepping is just that," I told her. "You do two quick steps back with your right foot then one long with your left. You go backwards and I go forwards, okay?" she nodded, mutely, looking closely at the feet of the other dancers. I put her left hand up on my shoulder then return my hand to her back.

"Now it's all in the leading," I leaned in closer so I was talking into her ear, "some like to lead with their hand on your hand, others, like me, lead with the hand on your back. So when there is no pressure just keep going backwards, when I press my hand against you like this," I gently pressed hand into her back, "it means you need to come towards me, and when I need you to go right or left, I will press either with my fingers or the heel of my hand," I said, demonstrating both motions. "Lastly, you need to shuffle your feet a bit, only the easterners hop around a dance floor, out here we only bounce through a polka. Ready to give it a go?"

"Yes, I think so," she answered. Her body was so close to mine but the only parts of her touching me were where our hands were. Her hand tensed on my shoulder when I went to move. "It's okay," I said, "just trust me and feel the music."

We made in through the remainder of the song, with me only bumping her feet a few times, before she started to get the hang of it. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band trailed off and we continued on through the next song. Bella began to relax into the rhythm and her body started moving more easily with mine, her hips and shoulders swaying, as I guided her around and alongside the other dancers.

By the time the words to 'Unbelievable' by Diamond Rio began, Bella was smiling, and I felt confident enough to introduce a few spins and quick turns. I couldn't help but grin as she laughed after every spin, her joy was infectious, and she moved so easily with me. At the end of the song I dipped her and her flushed face looked so beautiful, it took everything in me not to kiss her.

Raising her back up, we both just stood there, winded slightly from three turns on the dance floor. Still holding her hand, I led her back to the table. When we got there everyone else was already sitting down with a fresh round.

The pull I felt for Bella was back, just as strong as it was the week prior, and I just wasn't sure how I felt about that. I dropped her hand and stuck mine in my pockets, rocking back on my heels slightly. The little memento in my front pocket burned like a silky blue Judas.

"You know what guys, I'm beat. Will you be okay taking a cab to Alice's?" I asked of the four at the table. They all nodded, with smiles and glazed eyes, moving to the music.

"Are you not feeling okay?" Asked Bella, her brow furrowed adorably.

"Like I said, I'm just beat. It has been a long week. I just want to head home and crash."

"You know, I'm pretty tired too. It has been a long day. Do you think you could drop me off on campus?" Bella asked

I eyed her warily, but good manners won out, and I nodded. Bella ran to get her coat and things and I met her at the door. We walked, side by side, out into the parking lot and, when I led us up to my dark blue Jetta, Bella looked at me in confusion.

"Um, it's my town car," I said with a shrug. Bella looked suspiciously crestfallen and under the weight of my gaze her cheeks first pinked then flamed. The light bulb went off. Without a thought to allow hesitation I caged Bella between my arms my fingertips on the top of my car. With my head lowered to meet her eyes, I cocked one eyebrow and smirked lopsidedly.

"Bella? Were you hoping to go for another ride in my truck?" I don't think the innuendo was lost as she gasped with indignation. For a moment we stood there, time suspended, the air charged. She narrowed her eyes then rolled them. "Jerk," she muttered pushing me away. The intensity broken, I laughed, running my hands through my hair, while Bella danced away and got in my car.

We drove in silence for a minute or two. I focused on our route and Bella looked out the window, rubbing her hands on her thighs. The sound of her skin rasping against the denim was as distracting to my mind as it was gaining the attention of my dick.

We were stopped at a red light, approaching the bridge that would take us over the South Saskatchewan River and onto campus, when Bella broke the silence.

"So, you know, last week…well I just wanted you to know that I don't normally do stuff like that," Bella said, her hands now still and her head low, her hair hanging and hiding her face from my view.

"What? Cheat?" I questioned harshly, responding without thinking first. I squeezed my eyes shut and inwardly groaned, mentally kicking my own ass.

Bella flipped her hair back, whipping her gaze to me and glared balefully. "No, I mean I don't make a habit of fucking random strangers, fuck you very much."

The light changed and we continued on in silence. The tall buildings of upper-level student housing came into view.

"Look, I'm sorry," I said with a long sigh, repented.

"No, I get it," Bella said softly, "it's just that I don't really consider Eric my boyfriend. I haven't seen him in over three months and I have barely even talked to him all summer."

"That may be, but does he know…that he isn't your boyfriend?"

Her silence answered that question.

"You are pretty pissed with me, huh?" she asked, looking out the window as I pulled into the large parking lot.

"I don't really know how I feel, Bella," I responded.

We didn't say anything else. Bella indicated which building was hers. I parked and got out when she did. I felt more comfortable if I was sure she got safely to her door. I kept my hands secure in my pockets as we walked up to the entrance of the building. Bella fished around in her bag for her keys.

"Well, thanks for the ride," Bella said when we stopped in the alcove of the entrance. "Maybe I will see you around campus after classes start."

I nodded dumbly, and then asked, "Many people moved in yet?" I didn't want to walk away.

"No, just a few. I imagine it will start filling up next week with classes starting after next weekend." She answered. Bella cocked her head and wetted her lips, looking up to meet my gaze with her bottomless, mahogany eyes.

"You know, for what it's worth, I don't regret anything," she said so very quietly.

One second I was just looking at her and the next my lips were on hers. Part of my mind heard her bag and keys hit the ground as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Our mouths moved feverishly, tongues and teeth, devouring. We must have moved because the rough brick scraped against the back of my hands where they pressed into Bell's body, holding her to me.

I crouched down slightly, wrapped my hands under her thighs and dragged her up the wall, pinning her there with my hips. Bella, whimpered slightly when my lips had left hers, then sighed softly, wrapping her legs around my waist as my lips and teeth attacked her neck.

Her body clung to mine and I fisted her hair and dragged my lips back up along her neck and jaw to her mouth. My erection strained in my pants and our hips began to buck together, by instinct, as we continued with our hot, wet kisses.

My mind finally registered where we were and what we were doing, as I felt the pressure in my cock nearing its breaking point. I broke my lips away with a groan and moved to rest my cheek against Bella's. I could hear her pants in my ear and I'm sure she could hear mine in hers. My chest was heaving and my heart pounded.

"Fuck, Bella, we have to stop. You have to go inside and I have to leave," I gasped breathlessly, my voice catching.

"What? Why?" Bella asked, moving head back with a jerk. Her flushed features a portrait of confusion.

Gently, I lowered her until her feet were again on the ground. I stepped back and my dick twitched, uncomfortable and annoyed to be taken from its warm nest between Bella's thighs.

"Bella, it's obvious we have chemistry and, shit, I really want to see where this takes us, but I'm not going to be your other guy, while you have a spare waiting on you somewhere else."

She opened her mouth and then closed it. The flush on her face morphed from one produced by passion to embarrassment. When I saw the hurt appear I quickly took her face in my hands and pressed another kiss, chastely, to her mouth. Fuck, I hope I wasn't screwing this up.

"Look, I'm not trying to be an ass," I said huskily, I tilted her head so I could rest my forehead against hers. I closed my eyes and breathed her in. "I just want to do this right."

~~~PF~~~

**a/n: Hugs and Thank you's to Jade GreenEyes, LasVegas TowGirls, and Michelle SB-Cullen for enduring my endless obsessing and missing comma's. If I could gift you with a shirtless, sweaty Edward, I would (Ha! Who am I kidding, I would keep him – but I might let you look at him).**

**If you are looking for something to read – check out some of these awesome authors:**

**Catastrophia: www(.)fanfiction(.)net/u/2262046/**

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